I tried to cook up a witty subject line but failed.

The Conference Board released their Q1 CEO Confidence Survey and it was what we expected in a roller-coaster kind of way.

The Index took a leap from 46 to 53% thanks to a sprinkle and dash of lower interest rates and inflation.

However, and hold onto your hats – 23% of the CEO’s up from 13% expected to show some workers the exit door. The enthusiasm for expanding their workforce seems to be losing steam, dropping from 38% to 35%.

All eyes are on next week’s January CPI number on inflation. The industry is anticipating a decline from 3.4% to 3%. Remember these numbers are based on last year’s inflation numbers so as we journey forward the drop in inflation will be smaller and smaller.